Former German chancellor wants to maintain contacts with putin and blames Ukraine

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said he wanted to maintain some contact with russian president putin and that the lack of progress in negotiations to end the war was Ukraine's fault.

dpa reports.

In a comment to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Schröder said he "will not turn down the opportunity" of talks with putin.

Commenting on the debate over military aid to Ukraine, the ex-chancellor criticized the focus on arms supplies and said he didn't believe in a military resolution.

"The war can only be ended through diplomatic negotiations. The fate of the military and the Ukrainian civilian population can be eased only through diplomatic means," said Schröder.

The ex-chancellor stated that he concluded from his conversation with putin in March that he was interested in reaching a solution through negotiations.

"What such a solution might look like can be found only through negotiations," Schröder noted, calling to "prevent further escalation."

In his opinion, Ukraine is to blame for the failure of negotiations.

Reference

Gerhard Schröder was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005, and after that, he joined the management of russian energy giants—Gazprom and Rosneft. At the beginning of the war, he was harshly criticized for maintaining contact with putin and refusing to condemn russia's actions.

In recent months, Schröder rejected an offer to join the supervisory board of the Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom and left the position of chairman of the board of directors of Rosneft.

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